bandieramonte wrote:Hello everyone;
I'm about to finally get my new machine and I'm having a hard time deciding whether if I should install XP or Vista. My primary concern is gaming.
I want to get the best performance, while at the same time get the best image quality. So, this is hard for me because I know that games perform better on XP, while XP can't activate DirectX10. To help you help me, here I also post some of my new machine's specs:
4GB OCZ Reaper PC6400 CAS4 800 mhz
(2x) Geforce 8800GTS Pcie 512MB GDDR3 3PORT Dual Dvi Tv Out Oc SLI
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Sound Card ( 70SB073A00000 )
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 quad-core processor, 2.40GHz, 8M L2 Cache, LGA 775
Nforce 680I Lga 775 Dc MAX-8GB DDR2 Atx 4PCIE 2PCI X-fi Aud Esata
Since my machine will have far more memory than what a 32 bit OS supports, I would need a 64 bit OS. I have heard that the support for XP 64 bit OS is terrible.
So I really need your help to decide the best OS for my machine considering my primary concern.
Thanks a lot.
From the OP quote above he wants the best image quality (his performance is covered by the beast he's building), that would mean DX10 = Vista.
To fully use his 4GB RAM means 64-bit and XP 64-bit is bad and will not get any better as MS has no reason to spend money on it = Vista 64-bit.
While Vista has gotten it's share of bad press XP got a TON of it on release and it's detractors lasted much longer I mean SP2 took what, 3 years to be released, and was initally plaqued by broken apps and connectivity. XP had the same resource and pricing issues as well as issues with activation (I well remember the problems with my $10.00 "Customer Preview" release).
While Vista does have some issues in SOME cases IMHO the good outweighs the bad. The issues I had upgrading from 2000 to XP Pro were absent in my switch to Vista entirely and fully functioning driver availability for my PSC-2175 was my only problem (HPs fault not MS). I have upgraded all of my PCs and several friends to Vista without a hitch.
Not everyone has done so unscathed and I'm sure that there are software incompatibilities (as with XP), driver issues (as with XP). And in some cases remaining with XP is a good idea but IMHO building a new gaming rig, especially with the specs stated above, is probably not one of them. By this time next year most of these issues will be resolved and forgotten just like XPs growing pains were and many more games that make effective use of the DX10 engine will be out.
Most of Vistas bad press is exactly that , bad press, (my DeNial ridden opinion that is) and I predict that we will see the exact same cycle of "Wow it's coming, cant wait to upgrade" to "Wow this bites I can't wait until the 1st SP" and "Dont switch, downgrade to Vista!" when Windows 7 hits the street
Till then enjoy Vista, XP, one of the zillion distros of Linux, or OSX and rock on (I personally miss OS/2).